Jasper County approves $41 million budget

The $41,513,201 budget was approved by a 4-1 vote, with Councilman Theo Drayton voting against the budget because he disagreed with County Council’s decision to lower the school district’s property tax millage rate by 6 mills, to 166 mills.

The Jasper County School District, which recently approved its $24,768,340 budget, planned to allocate $569,520 to restore its fund balance to 10.5 percent of the general fund expenditures. District officials said the reduction of 6 mills equals $440,000, which leaves $125,520 for the fund balance.

County Council can levy taxes to fund the school’s budget, which it did by granting the school district 166 mills.

Drayton wasn’t pleased.

“I cannot support the budget,” Drayton said.

The total millage, including county and school, is 345 mills. The county millage is 86.5.

Barbara Clark, a former school board member now on County Council, agreed with Drayton that council does not get to tell the school board what to do with the funds, but said it’s council’s job to provide the district enough money after it thoroughly went through the budget.

“We are here to set the mills,” Clark said. “There is still more fat in the school budget that needs to come out. The taxes in Jasper County, it’s too high. People are losing their homes and we are still saying, ‘Give the schools with they ask for.’ When are the schools going to give us what we ask for, and that’s improvement. When we get improvement we can put more dollars to where it’s needed.”

In a letter sent last week to County Council Chairman Henry Etheridge, school district chair Berty Riley said the millage reduction could “do real harm to the county, school district and all our taxpayers.”

In the letter, Riley requested that County Council levy a millage rate of 172 mills.

The school district estimates an enrollment of 2,710 students for next year; about 417 less than estimated for 2012-13.

The letter notes when then the state reduced its mid-year allocations by $1.1 million, after student enrollment declined, it decided not to have furloughs or lay off employees, but instead used its fund balance to finish the school year.

By doing so, the district said it reduced the fund balance to about $1.8 million or 7.2 percent of the operating budget.

Clark said the fund balance should be used for emergencies or disasters.

“I have not heard of any of those disasters at Hardeeville or Ridgeland,” she said.

On Tuesday, school district director of finance Gary West said the reduction of state funds “absolutely” represented an emergency.

County administrator Andy Fulghum said before the meeting that County Council thinks it best for the school district to replenish the fund balance with the set millage rate or find other ways within its budget to make it work.

“Either fund it at the reduced millage amount or adjust the overall budget,” Fulghum said.

Fulghum also said County Council is “sympathetic” about the need to have a fund balance and it understands “the relationship between it and the bond rating.”

After the meeting, Riley said she was disappointed.

“They hurt our children, they didn’t hurt us personally,” Riley said. “It’s a great disappointment to Jasper County citizens.”

Other items:

• Proclaimed the week of June 16, 2013 Thomas Ezekiel Miller week. He was born in Ferrebeeville.

• Approved the third reading of an ordinance to enter into three-year agreement with Jasper County Radio Control, Chapter No. 5096 of the Academy of Model Aeronautics.

• Approved the second reading to amend the zoning map for a proposed food service establishment at 3949 Bees Creek Rd.

• Approved a three-year contract with Baird Company at $14,000 a year to keep it as the county’s auditors.

• Approved a resolution for an intergovernmental agreement between it, the city of Hardeeville, and the state infrastructure agreement. A $3.9 million grant will be used for the interchange at the to-be-developed Exit 3 on I-95.